Philadelphia rapper
Cassidy is in critical condition, after an accident last night (Oct. 4) in New
Jersey. The
rapper was leaving New Jersey enroute for a Yonkers, New York recording studio,
when a U-Haul truck swerved into oncoming traffic and crashed into Cassidy’s side
of the SUV he was riding in. "He
was the only one that suffered critical injuries," a representative for Cassidy’s
label Sony/BMG told AllHipHop.com. "[He suffered] a fractured skull and broken
bones on the left side of his face."The
rapper is heavily sedated, but his brain activity is normal. He is expected to
recover from his injuries. "Cass
is like my brother, and this has been such a rough year for him," Swizz Beatz
said in a statement. "We’re all praying and staying positive during this
time. Thanks to everyone for their continued support, and please keep Cassidy
and his family in your prayers."The
four other passengers in the vehicle escaped injury.Cassidy
is being held at an undisclosed hospital in the New York City area. The
rapper rose to fame with the release of his first solo single 2004’s "Hotel,"
which featured R. Kelly. The
single was taken from his debut Split Personality, which landed at No.
2 on Billboard’s Top 200 upon its release in March of 2004. In
June of 2005, just as Cassidy was preparing his sophomore album I’m a Hustla,
he was arrested and charged with the murder of a 22-year-old man Desmond Hawkins,after a shootout behind his Philadelphia row home in April. During
Cassidy’s trial, a key prosecution witness recanted his statements about witnessing
the rapper firing a gun and claimed police told him what to say. In
Jan. 2006, Cassidy was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of
aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime. Police
said they found ammunition in Cassidy’s house which matched shell casings recovered
from the crime scene. Cassidy
was released from prison in March of 2006, after serving eight months behind bars.
The
rapper was working on his third album for Swizz Beatz’ Full Surface label, which
is distributed by J Records. Shortly
after his release, the rapper told AllHipHop.com that he had learned from his
experiences over the past year and was on a much different course."I’m
more patient, humble," Cassidy told AllHipHop.com in March 2006. "I’ve
got a better relationship with God and my family. I know my real friends. I just
learned so much from it. I was able to clear my mind up – not drink and smoke
and party and not deal with the business every day. I was able to think –
get my priorities together. I came to the conclusion of where I wanna go and the
type of artist I wanna be." Cassidy
was recently featured on the Swizz Beatz’ produced song "One Day," which
was produced in conjunction with the International Peace Concert.Cassidy
was to perform the song with Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Chris Brown, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
and Lyfe Jennings during the International Peace Concert, which airs live from
the Coliseum in Rome, Italy on December 9th.
